the wulf's bark is worse then his bite

Beowulf

By Daniel Scillieri


Personal Grade: C-/C


This animated movie just didn't live up to the hype or expectations that all the previews and comments set for it. The legend of Beowulf is an old English story, written in that terrible form of text that takes multiple attempts to understand one sentence. The movie is in a language we all understand but that didn't save the film. The story of Beowulf is that he is this great warrior / monster slayer who comes to this small kingdom that is attacked by this grotesque unbeatable monster named Grendol. Beowulf accepts this challenge and for some reason, strips down to nothing to battle the monster in mortal combat. The story really begins after this battle when Grendol's mother, an animated naked Angelina Jolie, steps in and begins to press her evil power. The story goes on and on and is pretty good for about half but then just takes a few to many twists from the original story that I didn't like. I read the English lit. epic a few times and I really enjoyed the story. Beowulf is pretty much a superhero who has great courage and quick wits. The original story is great, and the movie follows it for a while but then it takes a turn for the worse. Here are my Pros and Cons for the animated movie, Beowulf.

The Pros:
The fantasy story gives several reasons to catch your attention and hold it. There are several really cool fight scenes throughout the movie showing how much of a warrior Beowulf really is. Be it a giant sea serpent, weird ugly monster, or a massive golden dragon, he dives right in without thinking twice. The battle Beowulf has with Grendol is both exciting but at the same time very comical. In an Austin Powers type style, The naked Beowulf is discretely covered by a mug of ale or a sword in the ground no matter which way he moves to fight the monster. At the end of the battle is the famous line seen in the trailer that gives you a few goose-bumps of excitement. In case you haven't seen it or know what I am talking about, It is my favorite quote from this movie and you can find it at the bottom of the posting. Another major bonus was the animated demon Angelina Jolie. As a big fan of her, the face and body of a hot, naked, temptress monster definitely added some much needed spice to this movie. Yea yea, I know what you are thinking that she is animated, but it looks exactly like her and it is quite simple to visualize the animated version as the real version.

The Cons:
There were a few in this movie that really hurt its grade. First, the question of why was this animated??? This movie would of been much better if it was with real characters and advanced computer generated monsters, and of course the real Angelina Jolie. There were several times in the movie that the animation just didn't seem top notch. I have seen graphics in video games that were better then some of the shots in Beowulf. The other major problem I had with the movie is that It did not follow the original story. It stayed pretty close for about half the film but then took its own twist as if the director was like," I Like it This way". I guess being the director you have the power to do that but in this case it just didn't seem right. In my opinion, if the movie followed the story closer, it would have been just as good and possibly even better.

Conclusion:
This animated action adventure provides a good amount of excitement with cool fight scenes and a very hot villain, but lacking things like story line and poor graphics made this movie average at best. You think film makers will learn after this movie and Final Fantasy a few years ago that real actors just can't be beat. If you are looking for a quick paced fantasy movie, then you will enjoy Beowulf. It is worth the price of a movie ticket but should not be your first choice when deciding what to see. It will definitely make it on the list of future DVDs for the Team Talking In Movies library.


Favorite Quote:
Beowulf: I am Ripper... Tearer... Slasher... Gouger. I am the Teeth in the Darkness, the Talons in the Night. Mine is Strength... and Lust... and Power! I AM BEOWULF!